Just like many aspects of operating a business, the choice between hiring a creative marketing firm and DIY creative marketing can be a relevant debate.
After all, Techjury’s data shows that marketing tactics such as ads can boost brand awareness by 80%.
But the question remains, especially for small businesses with limited resources – should you invest in professional services or try marketing your business? Let’s unpack the basics, as well as the pros and cons.
Table of Contents
- What is Creative Marketing?
- What Does Creative Marketing Involve?
- DIY vs. Professional Creative Marketing: Pros and Cons
What is Creative Marketing?
Creative marketing is the art and science of using imaginative strategies to capture your target audience’s attention and engage them in meaningful ways
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What does creative marketing involve? Whether executed by top creative agencies or in-house teams within a business or organization, creative marketing generally includes the following:
Innovative Ideas
Compared to traditional marketing, creative marketing uses innovative ideas and fresh concepts. These original marketing ideas or formats work to intrigue the audience and capture their attention.
One example is viral marketing, a strategy that spreads information through word-of-mouth and social sharing. During Halloween 2013, Pepsi released a simple yet genius campaign that dissed their long-time competitor, Coca-Cola:
Pepsi’s Halloween 2013 Ad
The funny visual spread like wildfire as social media users shared the humorous ad.
Storytelling
Brand awareness is one thing, but engagement is another. That said, creative marketing uses the power of a good story to make a brand more relatable to its target audience.
One example is Airbnb’s A Different Paris campaign. The ad showcases how a traveler could enjoy a memorable Paris trip by experiencing it like a local.
Visual and Aesthetic Appeal
A study by MIT reveals that 90% of the information our brain absorbs is visual. This shows how crucial visuals are in connecting the brand and its audience.
For instance, many of our clients here at Penji – from solopreneurs to top creative agencies who need to outsource graphic design – ask our pro designers to create their visual assets. They know how important visuals are in making an impact on their audience.
Visual assets designed by Penji
What Does Creative Marketing Involve?
What do creative marketing teams Do? A creative marketing firm does all the tasks related to marketing a brand in an innovative way.
Whether you opt for DIY marketing or you choose to get the services of a creative marketing firm, here are some of the most common aspects related to the tasks:
Market Research
This task involves doing audience research to understand the audience and analyze competitors.
Strategy Development
To build a strategy, one must define goals, objectives, and key performance indicators or KPIs.
Brand Development
This task involves brand illustration and brand identity elements (logo, colors, typography), as well as creating brand guidelines and messaging.
Content Creation
Creating content means writing blog posts and articles, creating video content, and producing visual content like infographics and images.
Advertising Campaigns
Marketers also plan and execute digital ad campaigns. These may include Google Ads and social media ads.
Social Media Management
This task involves developing a social media strategy, content pillars, and a content calendar to be able to post consistently and regularly.
Visual assets designed by Penji
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The task also involves optimizing the brand for search engines. This task includes keyword research, website traffic analysis, and off-page SEO tasks like backlinking and guest blogging.
Email Marketing
Running email campaigns has always been a part of marketing. Creative marketing, however, takes this task further by personalizing messages through client segmentation and campaign performance analysis. Added to that, you can further step up your email campaigns with email design services instead of using generic templates.
Experiential Marketing
These contemporary tactics may include pop-ups, brand experiences, and other events that intrigue the audience.
Website Management
Having a website has become a need for ventures today. Also, brands must ensure that their website design is optimized for the best user experience.
Visual assets designed by Penji
DIY vs. Professional Creative Marketing: Pros and Cons
Choosing between hiring a creative marketing firm and DIY creative marketing depends on a business’s resources, expertise, and goals. Here are the pros and cons of each:
DIY Creative Marketing
Pros:
- One of the best benefits of DIY marketing is cost savings since you wouldn’t need to hire externally.
- Doing the marketing yourself allows you to have full control of your strategies and campaigns. By controlling all aspects of the marketing efforts yourself, you can ensure that all messages are aligned with your brand identity.
- DIY marketing offers the flexibility to experiment with various approaches without waiting for external approval. For instance, you can test different content pillars to see which resonates best with your audience.
Cons:
- A crucial disadvantage would be the potential lack of professional expertise. Unless you have knowledge about SEO, content creation, and data analysis, it would be challenging to wing the tasks.
- DIY marketing can be time-consuming. Doing everything yourself means you’ll have less time to focus on other things that move the needle.
Professional Creative Marketing
Pros:
- A creative marketing firm would have ample experience and knowledge that extends to their clients’ campaigns. They’re also in the know about the latest techniques.
- Since they run campaigns for various clients, firms have access to advanced tools and tech that can enhance marketing efforts.
- With a firm manning your campaigns, you’ll have more time to spend on other crucial aspects of the business.
Cost:
- One reason many new ventures avoid hiring firms is the cost, which could vary based on the services needed.
- When you work with a third-party creative firm, it’s possible to have less control and deal with potential delay before carrying out changes in strategies.
DIY marketing can be a great choice if you want to save costs and maintain control, but it requires time and a willingness to learn.
On the other hand, creative marketing firms offer expertise but come at a higher cost and may require some loss of control.
Whether you choose DIY creative marketing or decide to hire an agency, one thing’s for sure: it’s tough to carry out a successful campaign without professional graphic design – and that’s where Penji comes in.
We offer expertise and time efficiency while giving our clients complete control over aesthetics and revisions. Best of all, we provide unlimited designs at a flat monthly rate.
View a demo today to learn how we can handle your design needs.
